


Save Me

by colormyheartred



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Enchanted Forest, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 06:11:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7833406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colormyheartred/pseuds/colormyheartred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When he meets her, it's like the world stops turning. It's almost irrational, his attraction to the lass with the bold words and brilliant golden hair she wears tied in a ponytail, but it changes everything." Captain Swan. Based upon a tumblr gifset.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When he meets her, it’s like the world stops turning.

It’s almost irrational, his attraction to the lass with the bold words and brilliant golden hair she wears tied in a ponytail, but it changes _everything_.

She’s well skilled with the sword and holds her own quite well. It’s how he meets her, actually.

He just steps off of _The Jolly_ when a fight breaks out right in front of him. She’s angry, her emerald eyes hard and her teeth gritted as she jabs at her opponent with the sword in her hand.

Her hair tosses from side to side in its keep above her head and her opponent, a cowardly bloke who apparently has taken in more than his share of alcohol for the night, crumples to the stone ground, sending his own blade clattering.

She presses the tip of her sword against his throat and, breathing hard, she speaks, clear as day.

“Give me my money.”

The idiot refuses her, shaking his head. Hook takes a few steps to enter the situation.

“You heard her, mate,” Hook spits. “Don’t make her ask again. Give her what she asked for.”

The man trembles at the sight of him and does as he’s been told. Emma slings her sword into its holster and looks at him.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asks.

She starts to move past him. “Sorry. I don’t drink with strange men.”

He smirks, tilting his head to the side. “The name’s Hook. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”

She stops walking and stares at him, her eyes as piercing as the stars above, and smiles, a tiny thing. “As in _Captain_ Hook?”

“So you _have_ heard of me.” He grins.

For a moment, she considers him, but he already knows he’ll be taking her aboard his ship by the end of the night.

He leans in, keeping his eyes on hers. “Just one drink. I did help scare off your thief, after all.”

He sees curiosity in her eyes as she studies him, as if she has a lot of questions, and yet she’s cautious. “I could’ve handled it alone.”

“Aye,” he agrees. “I don’t doubt it.”

Hook takes a deep breath. “I’ll be at the nearest tavern until around midnight, should you decide to take me up on my offer.”

He walks away without her and it doesn’t take her long to return to him. He cracks a smug grin and she sits him down in a dark corner, drinks in hands as they get to know one another.

It’s obvious she finds him interesting. She has a look on her face akin to most women he’s seduced before, but she’s different. She rolls her eyes at his innuendo, and flirts straight back, with a bluntness that he absolutely can get behind.

“Who’s Milah?” she asks come the morning, after he spends hours ravishing her and kissing her delicious lips senseless.

Her eyes are on the tattoo on his forearm as he sits on the side of his bunk, preparing to rouse himself for the day.

“Someone from long ago,” he says softly, and the pain comes back in a great wave.

He doesn’t often bring women back to his ship. He typically finds an inn or alleyway and has his way with them there. He doesn’t want them to get attached and he doesn’t want them to overextend their welcome.

Emma is different. They’re similar in a lot of ways. She carries a look in her guarded gaze that reminds him so much of himself. An orphan’s an orphan, after all, and they’d bonded over that while drinking their sorrows away the night before.

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” she tells him as they stand on the deck of his ship. “I don’t have a home or a family.”

He nods. “You can stay with me, then.”

And it’s an unspoken thing, their arrangement. They spend their days on deck, working the ship, and their nights in his cabin. He doesn’t have to tell her that their physical relationship isn’t meant to be romantic, and she doesn’t seem to want it to be. She gives and takes just as much as he does.

They work as a seamless team, as if she’s been part of the crew from the beginning.

She doesn’t ask or pry on her own about his first love, Milah, nor does she ask about what happened to his hand. She just accepts him for who he is now, a man with a mission to slay the Crocodile after taking the woman he once loved from him.

He tells her of his plans over rum in his cabin after a day of fighting an enemy ship.

“What are you looking for?” she asks.

He crinkles his brow as he downs a sip of his rum. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t look for treasure,” she tells him. “Isn’t that what pirates do?”

Killian chuckles, raising an eyebrow. “Well, I suppose some do. Just not me.”

Emma stares at him, waiting for him to elaborate, and he does. “Milah died at the hand of the Dark One, a bloody demon if there ever was one, and I’ve sworn that I’d kill him for it.”

She sips from her flask and her tongue swipes at her lips. Emma keeps her gaze set on the floorboards below her feet. “So you’re looking for revenge.”

He nods. “Aye.”

She doesn’t say anything then. Perhaps she’s too tired from the day of fighting.

“He tore her heart out and crushed it right in front of me,” he explains. “And then he took my hand, as if killing the woman I loved wasn’t enough.”

Emma’s eyes, so green and bright, meet his once again, and his heart stutters because of it. But she still doesn’t speak.

And maybe it’s for the best that she doesn’t, because he isn’t sure what he’d say.

He’s not a good man, not any longer. He hasn’t been _good_ for a long time. Emma doesn’t deserve a man like him, but she stays regardless, and he has no idea why.

They just sail for a while after their run in with the naval ship, going from place to place and searching for treasure and stopping at ports for their taverns.

He doesn’t feel as if he craves the Dark One’s blood any longer. It used to keep him up all night as he plotted tracking the demon down, as he went from town to town in search of any hint to where he might be. He’s failed and failed some more, but since Emma came into his life, and onto his ship, he hasn’t spent very much time even considering it.

Emma has been on his right side for several months, holding her own in fights and barking out orders to the crewmen. And it’s _intoxicating_ , the way she speaks, the way she seems to glow brighter than the sun in the sky. Her laughter is music and her fingers tangle so perfectly with his. He swears its destiny.

She’s wrapped him tightly around her finger, has him lost in the way she smiles at him under the light of the morning glow.

And slowly, she’s pieced him back together.

He’s lost much in his life. He’s lost his family and his heart has been played with more ways than one.

Emma had been a friend at first; one with whom he’d shared his bed in order to satisfy the ache in his heart. But now, with every passing day he’s found himself discovering that the losses of his past have lost much of their pain.

Emma’s lost much, too. They’ve talked a little about her parents and about the men in her past who have betrayed and left her empty. She’s cried as they’ve lain in bed together, but he’s been there for her just as much as she’s been there for him with soothing words and gentle kisses, far too gentle for their uncommitted relationship that has long been _very_ committed.

They’ve sort of just drifted together and haven’t been able to part ways. Not that he wants her to. He _desperately_ needs her. And it’s not just because of her friendship, or her helping hand on deck, or the nights she spends tangled in sheets with him.

No, it’s something more than lust and it’s certainly something more than friendship.

He realizes it one night as they’re in their quarters, bodies sliding together, her hand caught in his as he pulls on her lower lip with his teeth.

It comes to him as clear as day as she sighs his name, “ _Killian_ ,”

He pulls himself upright and Emma’s eyes rip open in confusion. “What is it?”

Killian’s heart squeezes warmly within his chest and he wraps his arms around her to tug her up, their chests pressing together.

She sighs, whimpering a little, at the change in position, and he studies her face, shining with sweat, golden hair clinging to her head desperately.

“I don’t care anymore,” he tells her, “about the Crocodile and what he did to me. What he took from me.”

He smiles, unable to stop himself from it, and a small laugh escapes his throat as he searches her face. “I just want _you_ , Swan.”

Emma’s expression shifts and she cups his face in her palm, her thumb swiping over his cheek as he drops his forehead to hers.

“I just want you,” he repeats breathlessly.

She doesn’t say anything, but instead she kisses him, and he swears it’s everything he needs. Emma’s never been one for words, but rather action, and it’s one of the things he loves most about her.

Her kiss is sweet and loving, her hands both cupping his cheeks, and she sighs against him. Her nose brushes against his affectionately and he feels an ache lodge itself in his breastbone.

For the first time since he’s met Emma, he makes love to her, taking his time, finding constellations in the freckles of her skin, allowing his body to rock against hers with the waves as they roll around the ship.

And he kisses her lips, not the biting, playful kind he’s grown so used to in the months she’s been apart of his life. His kisses are passionate and lingering, desperate and meaningful.

When it’s all over and she curls into his side, Killian waits until she’s asleep, her chest rising and falling with equidistant pauses. He buries his face in her hair and breathes the scent of her in so it fills him.

“I love you,”

Come the morning, there’s a change in their relationship. Emma smiles at him, with a preciously sweet look in her eyes that he’d like to capture and save for the rest of his life.

“Good morning,” she whispers, a touch shyly.

The tips of her ears are pink and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen her like this, so open and unguarded. He may’ve seen glimpses of it in the past, but this is something that makes him think of a future together with no uncertainties.

Killian smiles sleepily, his voice still thick as it comes out. “Morning, love,”

Emma bites at her lip coyly before she kisses him. “Let’s make port today. I want to get some chocolate.”

He hums and smiles, because it feels as if stopping for chocolate is _normal_ and he has had a lot of normalcy lately because of her. “Anything you wish, Swan.”

Her fingers thread through his hair as he gazes at her.

He swears she’s an angel, sent to him from above. She’s far too beautiful to stoop as low as to stay aboard a pirate ship with him, but she has, and he has a feeling she’ll want to stay for a long while more. At least, he can dream it.

Emma sighs gently, taking her hand and dropping it between them. “I’ll go tell Smee our plans.”

The moment she gets out of bed, he follows suit, and they go above deck together. After she tells Smee that they’ll be making port at the nearest opportunity, she smiles at him.

“Want to practice sword fighting, Captain?”

He smiles wryly. “Are you sure you could handle it?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s _you_ who couldn’t handle it.”

Killian chuckles. “Well, I suppose we’ll see about that.”

They pull their swords from their holsters and immediately, she has him dancing around the deck of his ship, warning in her eyes and playful taunts on her lips.

The crew gathers to watch, cheering divided between the two of them.

“Oi!” he calls as he clashes his sword against Emma’s. “Who’s the captain here, blokes?”

“Sorry, Captain, but Mistress Swan is by far the better swordsman!”

He gives his crewman a look just as Emma lunges at him, her blade knocking his from his hand before she comes crashing against him, forcing him onto the deck so the breath is knocked from his lungs.

She’s pressed against him and before he knows it, she’s laughing as she pushes herself up.

“Sorry,” she laughs, “I thought you were paying more attention to me than you were.”

Killian chuckles lowly, his hand resting on her arm. “Darling, I always pay you mind.”

Emma pushes up off of him and the crew cheers for her as she helps him up. He sheaths his sword and waves off the crew when they start teasing him.

“All right, that’s enough. Everyone back to work.”

Emma smiles wide and he throws his arm around her shoulders, leaning in to kiss her temple. “You never cease to amaze me, Swan.”

“Would you like a lesson, Killian?”

Emma raises her eyebrow at him playfully and he doesn’t say anything so she gingerly steps around him, her body delightfully warm pressed against his backside. Her fingers play at the hilt of his sword and her chin presses to his shoulder.

Killian turns his head so that his forehead touches hers, and she smiles softly, a tendril of her hair swaying in the breeze.

She meets his eyes and he loses his ability to think. He never thought he’d find it in him to want something as simple as a life with a woman, with no desire to find revenge, but he has now.

“Emma,” he breathes, his voice shaking. “Emma, I-“

It’s then that manic laughter resounds from behind him.

His heart drops to his stomach and his eyes widen. He works quickly, moving to draw his sword while putting Emma behind him.

“What are you doing on my ship?” he seethes.

The Crocodile smiles evilly at him, “I’ve been keeping my eye on you, and it appears that you’ve found your _happy ending_ , hm?”

He feels sick to his stomach with fear. He feels Emma behind him, her fingers on his arm, and then she steps out from behind him.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but you need to leave.”

The Dark One’s snarl widens and he tosses his hand at Killian, pushing him against the mast and tying ropes to him, keeping him locked in place, unable to break free, no matter how much he fights it.

And it feels like Milah, all over again.

“What the hell are you doing?” Emma demands. She looks just as afraid as he feels, her chest heaving while her hand falls to her side and her sword.

The Dark One shakes his head and clicks his tongue in his cheek. “Why, what needs to be done, my dear.” He looks at Killian. “You don’t _get_ to have a happy ending, pirate. I’m taking it away from you.”

In horror, Killian watches as the Dark One takes a step toward Emma.

“No!” he screams, fighting the restraints as if it will help. “Emma!”

But it’s too late. The Crocodile and Emma disappear in a swirling of purple magic.

Silence falls over the ship. No one speaks. Not even the sounds of the water around _The Jolly_ are as loud as they usually are.

Killian has a lump in his throat and he closes his eyes, throwing his head back against the mast. He failed. Again.

Emma was his chance to be better. He already _was_ better because of her. And he lost her. He lost her to the Crocodile, just as he lost Milah before, except this time he didn’t have to see the woman who has his heart die. And he’s not sure that’s a good thing.

In silence, his crewmen untie him from the mast, and he goes to the side of his ship, feeling like a lost child as he stares out at the horizon.

“Captain?” Smee’s voice is small. “What would you have us do?”

He closes his eyes and curls his hand into a fist.

“We won’t rest until we find her.” Killian turns to face his crew and his voice breaks as he speaks again. “Dead or alive.”


	2. Chapter 2

It has been two months. Two months of loathing and wondering. Two months of sailing around aimlessly, drinking himself to sleep, and wishing he’d had the sensibility to do something to the bloody Crocodile while he had the chance.

His search has so far come up fruitless. No one has seen the Dark One and no one has seen Emma, and he doesn’t know where to start looking.

He’s been restless ever since Emma had been taken from him, keeping the night watch because he can’t sleep without nightmares of losing her.

Her absence is very noticeable. The crew murmurs whenever he’s around and he hears them wondering about his condition, mostly because he keeps quiet and to himself lately.

When Emma had been on board, they’d spent their time together, laughing and telling stories while they sailed. And he’d been _incredibly_ happy, as if he’d never felt happiness before.

He’s started being optimistic about her, though. Believing that she’s still alive keeps him driven. She’s alive and she needs him to find her. And she can’t be gone. Because if she’s gone, there’s nothing for him.

Often, he retires to their cabin and runs his fingers over the clothes she left behind, giving them a lingering press to his nose so he can remember what it felt like to hold her and kiss her.

The thing is, though, he doesn’t want to kill the Dark One for what he’s done. He doesn’t want revenge. He just wants to lock him up and keep him away from everyone else. He doesn’t want anyone else’s lives to be ruined because of jealousy gone awry.

And maybe that’s how Emma’s changed him. She’s shown him that what matters is his future, not his past, and he’s ached for a future where it’s just the two of them, sailing the world together, going on adventures and loving each other properly.

He allows himself to think of what it’ll be like when he sees her again as he lies down for his few hours of sleep, and it keeps the nightmares at bay for a while.

They end up docking where he’d first met his Swan and he feels more miserable than ever as he sits in the tavern with a mug in front of him and gambling all around him. His crew is taking a well-deserved break, having spent _too_ much time sailing around aimlessly without a single days rest.

He downs his ale and then marches toward the barkeep, resting his arm on the bar with a sigh.

“Can I help you with anything?” the barkeep asks after handing him another ale.

Killian stares at him for a beat. “Have you heard anything about the Dark One?”

The roundish man standing behind the bar stops dead and Killian narrows his eyes at him, straightening out.

“You know something. What do you know?”

The man starts to back away from him and Killian follows him when he goes through the back door to the back storeroom. 

“What do you know?” he demands, shoving the man against the wall. “Where is she?”

The man stutters and shakes. “I- I just know that the tower came out of nowhere. That’s all. On an island, by itself, in the middle of nowhere. A couple of weeks ago, some pirates came in here talking about it and they said they heard a scream. A woman.”

Killian drops the man to his feet and removes his hook from its threatening position beside his head. His heart is racing and he almost forgets who he is and where he is as he questions the man. All he’s thinking about is Emma, locked away in a tower, _alive_. Waiting for him to come rescue her. 

“Did they say where they were?”

The barkeep shakes his head. “Someplace in the Bottomless Sea. That’s all they said.”

Killian doesn’t take time to thank the man. He storms back into the main part of the tavern in order to bellow out, “Back to _The Jolly_ , Mister Smee. We’re heading to the Bottomless Sea.”

Smee nods. “Aye, Captain.”

The Bottomless Sea is dangerous and treacherous, scaring off sailors and pirates alike. He’s heard tales of men losing their bearings, though he’s quite certain nothing could compare to Neverland and its endless tricks and traps.

He isn’t terribly concerned, however, because his ship is as fast and as fantastic as they come. And he’s a _hell_ of a captain.

Unfortunately for them, navigating toward the treachery of the Bottomless Sea takes quite a bit of time, and they’re almost immediately enveloped in a hurricane. 

It tosses them and scares them, and they get lost more than once, drifting off course as if by some dark force. He wouldn’t put it past the Dark One to want him to stay without his happy ending by dangling hope out by a string only to kill him off in the process. 

He stands at the helm, his body completely drenched, wind pushing against his body like he’s a wall.

“Keep your stations, lads! We’ll defeat this storm, just as we’ll defeat the Dark One as soon as we find the tower.”

His men all roar in agreement, raising their fists to the air and bracing themselves as water washes over the side of the ship with the tossing of the sea.

He takes the wheel and stands at it, fighting wind and rain throughout the entirety of the night, through the early morning hours, until the first crack of sunlight breaks the darkness.

He feels like he’s won, and even if it’s a small victory, he’s able to close his eyes and whisper, “I’m coming, Swan. I’ll be there soon.”

Somehow it helps lift his spirits. He walks the deck and speaks to his crewmen with less frustration in his tone and he’s able to rest, and even though he’s without his Swan, he knows they’ll find her soon enough.

It takes them a while, but he’s on deck when they spot it. He lifts his spyglass to his eye and a smile spreads across his face, so wide it almost hurts.

“We’ve found her, lads!”

It takes them too long to get to the island in the middle of nowhere for his tastes, but they do reach it.

The tower is enormous in size and he hasn’t a clue how he’ll even begin, but he wastes no time, telling his crew to wait for him on the ship while he goes on his rescue mission.

He enters the tower with his head held high and immediately discovers a guard. He moves promptly to knock him unconscious, making quick work of discovering the stairway that leads him to a ramp-like structure that wraps the height of the tower.

Every few feet he has to engage another soldier and he begins to curse the Dark One for his precautions. Clearly, the Crocodile doesn’t want him to be reunited with his love, but he’s stronger than a few pathetic guards in masks.

His heart is racing hard in his chest because he’s _here_ and Emma is but a few levels above his head. He can almost see her, almost feel her in his arms again.

In front of the door at the top of the tower are two guards that he takes on with both his hook and sword, shoving one to the wall with a grunt while he kicks the other to the floor. He uses the hilt of his sword to knock the one against the wall unconscious and then, breathing hard, he leans over the one on the ground, finding that he’s knocked out already from the simple action of falling.

If only Emma could see him fighting with his sword now, Killian thinks with a tiny smile.

He goes to check the guards for a set of keys and discovers them chained to one’s hip. He takes them with ease, and then clamors to the door, eagerly opening the door with anticipation hot in his chest.

The room is massive and circular, empty with a few small exceptions.

His heart skips a beat when he sets eyes on Emma. She’s chained to the floor in the middle; her body curled up miserably and weakened.

She looks up at the sound of the door, her eyes wide, and rises to her feet, the chains clanging. He feels as if he can’t breathe, because he’s looking at her and she’s smiling with tears in her eyes.

“I knew you’d find me,” she says in a happy whisper.

He smiles at her, feeling overwhelmed with relief, and charges forward, moving swiftly to release her from her binds using the key. She crashes straight into him, her arms wrapping around his middle while his do the same.

She feels different, weaker, and he only holds her closer, burying his face in her neck so he can smell her hair.

“Darling, we need to go,” he breathes, pulling back. He reaches in and takes her hand, pulls back to look at her completely.

Oh, how he’s missed her. He’s longed for this very moment that he’d see her again, and now that he does-

He leans in to capture her lips passionately, squeezing his eyes shut, wishing they’d be allowed time they need to escape before the Dark One discovers what they’ve done.

Killian leans his forehead against hers. “Come now, Emma, we haven’t time to waste.”

“Okay,” she whispers, meeting his eyes with a little smile on her lips.

They move as fast as they can and he has to fight a few guards back down again before they leave, but they are eventually freed from the tower and are back on _The Jolly_.

Emma changes into something more comfortable while he goes to grab something for her to eat, and he orders the crew to get as far away from the tower as they possibly can, using whatever means possible.

He’s climbing down the stairs to their cabin when she stands from the bed and crosses the room quickly. She meets him at the base of the ladder, smiling at him.

“Hey,” she says in a happy tone, “Alone at last. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

He can’t help the grin on his lips as he moves in to kiss her, eagerly turning with her in the safety of their cabin.

He’s dreamt of having her back here for so long and now that she is, now that he has her under his fingertips and their lips are pressed together, he swears, he never wants to let her go. He has half a mind to propose and marry her right here and now.

Emma hums into his lips and he chuckles, his fingers toying at her skirt while they stumble back toward the desk.

“It’s been far too long.” He mumbles against her lips.

She hums and steps between his legs as he sits on the edge of the desk, her hands pressing against his chest and going onto his neck.

But it stops there. She leans back and stares at him through blown wide pupils and shakes her head while she swallows.

Emma licks her lips and steps back toward the ladder again, and he can sense that she’s afraid of something.

He rises, his brow furrowed, and approaches her. “What is it?”

She takes a deep breath and shakes her head.

“I was taken prisoner,” she states. “What do we do about the Dark One? As long as he’s out there…”

Killian gives a swift shake of his head. “Oh, I have a plan. That abomination won’t spread terror much longer.” He steps in closer to her, reaching to take her hand. “After what he did to you, after all that he’s done to _me_ , I won’t let him run free. I can’t.”

Emma pulls back a soft smile and a light laugh escapes her chest. “Good.”

Tears gather in her eyes and he moves in swiftly, pressing his lips to her forehead.

“Oh, Emma,” he breathes, reaching in to brush away the tears on her cheeks. He becomes angry, seeing her like this, especially since the last time he’d seen her, she’d been so happy and carefree. “What did he do to you, Swan?”

Emma shakes her head. “He didn’t do anything, I promise.” She sniffles and smiles weakly. “I just missed you. So much.”

He takes his hand and brings it into her hair, his thumb pressed to her temple.

“I’ve spent every day of these past three and a half months restlessly searching for you, and here you are.” Killian presses his forehead to hers. “I promise I’ll keep you safe, Emma. If incarcerating the Dark One means we’ll have our happy ending, then it’s as good as done.” 

He hears her take a shaky breath and her hands slide up his chest, stopping over his heart, and he hopes she knows she’s the one it beats for. Without her, he realizes, it had been somehow darker in this cabin, and now she’s here, providing a glow to the room like none other. 

And he thinks back on it all, on their meeting and their time on the deck of his ship, on learning about her past and making her laugh. He thinks of the pleasure they’ve had together in this cabin. And he aches, because with time apart, his heart has only grown fonder for her.

He’s _so_ glad to have her here again.

“I love you,” she tells him.

He swears his heart stops beating at her words. He holds his breath for a moment.

“Emma-“ 

She moves back to meet his eyes and studies him seriously, with tears brimming in her beautiful eyes.

“I spent all of that time waiting and hoping I’d get to see you again.” She blinks free a tear and it kills him. “And I never doubted you wouldn’t come for me.” Emma smiles hopefully at him. “I just realized, while I was wide awake in the middle of the night one night, that _this_  life is what I want. I want you and _The Jolly Roger_  and-“ Emma takes a breath. “I’ve been afraid of love in the past but with you it’s easy and I _know_ it’s how I feel.” 

Killian smiles softly and leans down to press his forehead to hers again.

“I love you too, Emma.”

When their lips meet it is gentle and her arms go around him so he can lift her. Her lips curl against his as he carries her to their bed and he sighs, because this is how it’s supposed to be. He and Emma, together, _happy_ , and in love.

They’re interrupted by a knock on the cabin door and he groans against her lips, parting with hesitancy. Her fingers work at the buttons of his shirt as he cranes his head to yell, “What is it?”

Emma’s fingernails scrape against the hair of his chest and he raises his eyebrows warningly at her, making her giggle sweetly with her teeth biting down on her lower lip.

“I’ve got food for Mistress Swan, Captain. Just like you asked.”

Killian clears his throat to conceal a groan when Emma’s fingers find his leathers, palming against him so a shot of desire rises within him, and forces himself to rise, giving Emma a little look that she just chuckles at. He goes to the top of the ladder, forces it open, and takes the tray from his crewman with a thin smile.

As soon as he’s down on the floor, he takes the tray to the bed and settles it onto Emma’s lap.

“Eat up, my love. I have a feeling that you need nutrients more than you need a tumble in the sheets right now.”

She gives him a look but he kisses her forehead sweetly. “I’ve got to tell Smee of my plans anyway, but I promise you I’ll be straight back.”

Emma studies him curiously. “And what are our plans, exactly? If it has to do with containing the Dark One, I want to help.”

He sighs and sinks down onto the bed beside her. “We’re going to take him to an island I know about, miles from civilization, and lock him up below ground in a tunnel system. It was once used as a prison for the Kingdom of Misthaven.”

“And how are we going to get him there?”

Killian takes a deep breath. “Hopefully, he’ll come to us. Whether it’s sooner or later remains to be seen. But I know him. He’ll be on his way soon enough.”

Emma nods in agreement. “Okay. Locking him up sounds fair enough to me.” 

Luckily for them, the Dark One takes his sweet time. They arrive at the island after a few hours of rest and food aboard the ship and venture down to the tunnel where the prison is, going toward it with a torch lighting their path.

They have with them a magical red feather pen that they traded a great deal of their treasure for. The pen has been enchanted by a fairy and is guaranteed to take away the Dark One’s magical abilities if he signs his name with it.

“So what do we do?” Emma asks softly.

Killian shakes his head. “We wait. We could summon him, but-“ 

“Ah!” Killian is interrupted by the Dark One. “Here you are! Finally!” 

Killian pulls his sword on the imp. “Or should we say here _you_ are. It’s been a few hours, Dark One. Have you forgotten your vendetta so quickly?” 

The Dark One smiles and it’s obvious he’s annoyed. “I’m _busy_. As I’m sure Miss Swan entrusted to you.” 

Emma shifts uneasily beside him and he begins to wonder what exactly she went through in the tower. Killian glances over at her when the Dark One looks at her and decidedly goes forward.

“Now listen to me, Dark One. I’m through with your nonsense.” 

The Crocodile looks excited, his eyes widening, and he giggles. “Well, Hook, I’m glad to see you too.” 

Killian growls, jabbing his swords tip into the Dark One’s chin. 

“You’re going to listen to us,” Killian tells him. “And you’re going to do what we tell you, because if you’re truly interested in keeping your head, I suggest staying still.” 

The imp raises his eyebrows. “As if you can do anything to me. _I’m_ the Dark One.” 

Emma takes a step forward and juts out the scroll and pen. “You’re going to sign this contract for us.” 

The Dark One lifts an eyebrow, taking his chin away from the sword, and narrowing his eyes as he plays with his fingers in front of his middle. “And _what_ , pray tell, does the contract entail?” 

Killian looks to Emma. She’s holding her chin out bravely and she gives a stern shake of her head. “It says you’ll leave us alone and in return, Killian will give you his ship.” 

“What would I want with that piece of driftwood?” the imp asks, scrunching his face in disgust.

“Watch how you talk about my ship,” Killian growls, jutting his sword out again. “What do you want from me, Dark One? I would’ve thought you got the revenge you wanted. Killing Milah and taking my hand wasn’t enough for you? You had to take Emma from me too? She did nothing to you.” 

Rumpelstiltskin chuckles. “You don’t deserve a happy ending, Hook. Not after what you _did_ to  _me_.” 

Killian grits his teeth and his grip tightens around his sword handle. “On my ship, I still have Milah’s things. You’ll only get them back if you sign this contract.” 

“Took a page from my handbook, have you?” the demon asks. “A contract?”

“We thought you’d find it easier to deal with us if you had pen and ink.”

For a moment, Killian is unsure if the deal will work. But then the Dark One gets a look on his face, as if he remembers something, and he yanks the pen and scroll from Emma’s hands and pushes pen to paper against the wall of the tunnel.

As soon as his name is signed, it’s obvious it worked.

The Dark One’s eyes go wide and he turns around. “What have you done?” 

Killian shoves his sword forward and presses it against his chin, spinning him around so he can walk him toward the jail cell that remains hidden in the darkness of the tunnel.

“You aren’t going to get to destroy anyone else’s lives anytime soon, mate.” 

Killian shoves him back into the jail cell with very little struggle from the Dark One. Emma is quick with the key and she steps forward, clinging to the bars. 

“Better get comfortable,” Emma says angrily. “You’re spending the rest of your life in there.” 

The Crocodile smiles, lifting his hand to point at the air. “Well played.”

He chuckles and looks Killian in the eye, studying him, mocking him even from within his cell. He doesn’t even need to say anything, and he knows it.

Killian moves forward to take Emma’s hand, forcing himself to look away from the Dark One, who had once been the object of his every thought and dream, and to Emma instead.

“Let’s go, Swan,” he says lowly. “I’d rather not spend another minute in this tunnel.” 

Emma looks at him after giving the Dark One another moment of her attention, her eyes angry still, and she nods. 

They head to the surface in silence and when they emerge, the light of the morning shines down upon them. Emma’s fingers brush against his and she gently slides her palm against his, tilting her head up to look at him.

She looks angelic with the glow of the sun behind her, and she smiles with her teeth showing as she speaks. “We did it.” 

“Aye,” he breathes. “We did.” 

She creeps up onto her toes and kisses him. A moment passes before he cups her cheek, and when they part, she grins at him. Already, he feels as if an incredible weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to be near this place anymore.” 

“Nor do I,” he agrees on a nod.

Not ten minutes later, she stands at the stern side of the ship, her hands clutching some rigging, and she watches as they leave the blasted island.

He observes her from the wheel and he’s glad to see her turn around, a smile on her lips and relief in her eyes. She softens her smile a little, just for him, and he grins right back, because it’s _over_. 

The Dark One is locked and away. His enemy is gone, no longer a pressing threat on his livelihood, and he has Emma, the absolute love of his life, with him now. 

She closes the small space between them and beams up at him, searching his eyes as she slides her teeth over her lower lip. “Where to, Captain?” 

Killian shakes his head. “I don’t know, love. Where do you want to go?” 

Emma thinks for a few seconds, but then she grins. “Let’s go get some chocolate first. Then, let’s look for treasure.” 

He chuckles. “Spoken like a true pirate.” 

She arches an eyebrow at him, her hands settling on his chest. “Do you really think so?” 

“Darling, you’re more pirate than me and I’ve been doing this for a couple hundred years now.”

Emma laughs, music to his ears, and he can’t help it when he leans in to capture her lips, his hand settling on her hip, forehead touching hers as they part.

“Let’s go below deck, hm? I believe we’ve got some catching up to do.”

She hums. “Well, I did win our last sword fight, so I _think_ that means I’m on top, doesn’t it?”  

Killian moves back, his tongue flicking over his lips and his breaths short. “Gods, woman, are you trying to kill me?” 

Her laughter is loud and it carries, only stopping when she bites her lip and takes his hand.

“Hey,” she whispers as their palms align. Her eyes are bright and he can’t help but get lost in them. “I love you.” 

“Aye,” he breathes, “and I love you.” 


End file.
